Philadelphia Orchestra loses star trumpeter Esteban Batallán
He is going back to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
The principal trumpeter hired by the Philadelphia Orchestra just last August is leaving.
Esteban Batallán, who came to Philadelphia from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, is returning to his former post full-time this fall, the Chicago Symphony announced Friday. Moreover, he will be phasing back into the Chicago ensemble shortly, playing concerts with them in April, May, and June, and joining the group in May on a European tour.
When the trumpeter was hired in Philadelphia, music and artistic director Yannick Nézet-Séguin called it a “historic appointment that will have a generational impact on the sound of the orchestra.”
Batallán did not immediately return messages on Friday seeking comment on the reason for his departure. But he was clear from the start that he was taking a leave of absence from Chicago and would be making up his mind during the 2024-25 season about whether the move to Philadelphia would be permanent.
“I hope it’s going to be a great experience and I hope the members of the Philadelphia Orchestra and everybody involved is as excited as I am,” he told The Inquirer in August. “Let’s see what the future brings to us. Maybe we create a beautiful partnership and I stay for decades — who knows?”
A native of Galicia, Spain, Batallán began studying music at age 7, and trained at the Conservatory of Music in Pontevedra, Superior Conservatory of Music of Vigo, and at the Galicia School of Musical Studies.
His last concerts with the Philadelphia Orchestra will be sometime in the spring, said a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts.
Nézet-Séguin called Batallán “a wonderful artist at the highest level of orchestral music” in a statement released Friday, “and it has been a joy to have him be a part of our musical family this season to see if he was the right match with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Each time a new musician joins us, there are many, often unique aspects in creating harmonious collaboration, and a period of mutual discovery is an important and helpful process. Esteban’s heart is in Chicago, and we wish him a beautiful future.”